Rap/Hip Hop is like most music in that most of the genre totally sucks. But amongst the garbage, there are exquisite gems. I caught the fever early, back in 1984, with UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne". I was 13. I graduated to Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul Tribe, Black Sheep, Gangstarr, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, and then around 1995, when things got all stupid and violent and East Coast/West Coast, I dropped out. Until Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, and Rawkus came out, then I was interested again. Now I'm mostly into what Stones Throw put out (Madlib, etc.) I prefer soulful instrumentals. Just can't get into Kendrick Lamar.
A lot of hip hop makes no sense to people who dont understand the slang and other genre specific references. Might as well be Greek. A lot of these dudes have had worthwhile sh*t to say, and if they made it hard and funky, all the better. Sadly, most commercial rap music it absolute rubbish.